Game of Thrones Season 7 Preview | The Road to Westeros: Day 6

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Game of Thrones Season 7 Preview: The Road to Westeros, Day 6 – Villains

Josh Wigler (@roundhoward) and Rob Cesternino (@robcesternino) are once again spending seven days previewing the various characters, plotlines, regions and stories that currently set the table for season seven of “Game of Thrones”. All seven days of “The Road to Westeros” were recorded before seeing the premiere of the new season of “Game of Thrones”.

On Day 6, Rob and Josh talk about who might be able to fill the large, bastard-sized shoes of “Biggest Villain in Westeros”, left vacant following the deaths of Ramsay Bolton & Walder Frey in season 6.

Josh Wigler is an entertainment journalist who covers Survivor, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and other popular TV shows for The Hollywood Reporter. He's the co-author of The Evolution of Strategy, creator of First One Out, host of Post Show Recaps and The Wiggle Room, and occasional Wanda Shirk impersonator.
He once interviewed Kermit the Frog about The Avengers and The Hunger Games, and hung out with Daryl Dixon and Ted the teddy bear during New Year's... so, you know, he's kind of a big deal. Follow Josh on Twitter @roundhoward.

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It’s kind of sad when you think of how many delicious bad guys Game of Thrones has killed off. Tywin, Joffrey, Roose and Ramsey Bolton, Walder Frey, lesser evils like Stannis and Alliser Thorne.

It makes me think about characters like Melisandre and Jaqen H-ghar and what their roles will be during the end game.

As the podrickcasters mention, it really only leaves Cersei and the Night King as the biggest bad guys. And if you consider that the first White Walker, the Night King, was created by the Children of the Forest, is he really that bad? Legend says Leaf created him to stop the First Men from cutting down all of their sacred trees and razing the land through exploration. Was this the first incarnation of Greenpeace?

My simple theory is they have to either take away something significant from the good guy forces, or introduce another element of evil we haven’t seen yet.

J-me not Hi-me

I am waiting in joyful hope for Littlefinger’s demise.

TrentC

Is he a true bad guy or just a weak, selfish guy who has to manipulate events behind the scenes?

J-me not Hi-me

Bad guy, final answer. 🙂

J-me not Hi-me

I mean yes, he’s certainly selfish and mostly he pulls strings behind the scenes, but he has gotten his hands dirty (pulled knife on Ned, pushed poor Lysa out of the Moon Door.)

Lance Davis

I kind of wonder if sometime between now and the end of the series, that Cersei Lannister eventually becomes some kind of version of–‘The Night’s Queen’, and ultimately joins forces along side with ‘The Night’s King’ & his army of White Walkers? Just a crackpot theory here. I don’t want to leave any Dragonstone unturned. S7 cannot get here soon enough! Looking forward to the top notch GoT coverage over here at PSR.

TrentC

You just gave me a vision of the Night King trying to convert Cersei into a cold-hearted undead wight and she just smiles…

Lance Davis

I know–I think that could be a cool little curveball GoT throws at the audience in these last 13 episodes. I was just thinking, with enemies on all sides, Cersei could align with the White Walkers/Night’s King eventually, to let them take out her human enemies/adversaries within Westeros–the Starks & the Targaryens, etc., so she can try to maintain her hold on the power and thus the Iron Throne. At this point in the show, she is barely human anyway with her actions and her disregard for human life–from anyone who challenges her in this game. Collateral Damage does not bother Cersei. We’ve seen the descent and depths she’s willing to go to at the end of S6, and now that her kids are dead, she really has no compassion for humanity at all. And I think this would be the most villainous heel turn she could possibly make at this point in the show from here on out. Ultimately, trying to betray ALL of Westeros and giving zero F’s in the process in an attempt to maintain her Power.

TrentC

The Night King is approaching from the left, Cersei is closing in from the right.

I run to the Night King for help.

*I think your theory is good. I was having strange ideas about Jorah finding out the Grayscale disease, dragonscales and White Walkers were all somehow related. He discovers Grayscale protects from White Walker attacks.

Lance Davis

Great theory on the Grayscale disease, I never thought of it from that angle. It will be very interesting to see how the show ties up that Grayscale subplot w/Jorah and how it effects the grand scheme of things the rest of the way.

TrentC

Going with your theory, how about the Night King turns Cersei into the White Walker Night Queen. Then she kills either Jaime or Tyrion.

Losing Tyrion and in that way, would be the kind of gut punch I think Rob and Josh are talking about.

Lance Davis

That is exactly how I envisioned it all going down in terms of Cersei and The Night’s King when I jotted down my theory up above. I was thinking that somehow The Night’s King will convert or ‘turn’ Cersei Lannister into some version of his ‘Night’s Queen’/White Walker by the end and she will not be opposed to this. I don’t know how we get there, but I think it is definitely plausible and in-play going forward. Interesting theory on her taking out Jaime or Tyrion. I hope that is not the case with my main man, Tyrion! I am under the belief and holding out hope that Tyrion is the last Lannister standing when everything is all said and done. I would like to see an ending where all remnants of House Lannister are extinct and exterminated from Westeros except for Tyrion, who would be the only living proof that House Lannister even still exists. Paralleling the story and similar to how it was explained earlier on how the Lannisters crushed House Reyne into extinction.

TrentC

Regarding Tyrion, yeah I’m getting hung up on the emotional death question the podcasters posed. Someone has got to come out of this thing alive lol!

Your Cersei White Queen idea is giving me chills up the spine. Lena Headey has such a wickedly evil smile.

Shifting gears a little, here’s a snippet from Maggy’s prophecy – “…the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” Valonqar is Valyrian for younger brother, which I believe both Tyrion and Jaime are. Hmm…

Bob

You kill Dany. She’s the biggest threat. I’ve always thought George has been building her as a villain. It’s great as literature because everyone is the hero of their own adventure. So she doesn’t see herself as a villain and a lot of the audience doesn’t either. Cersei is also a problem but I think Dany is worse.